We were very fortunate to have Craig Potton speak to the Dunedin Photographic Society on Monday the 22nd of October. He is a committed conservationist and New Zealand’s best known landscape photographer. Craig brought a collection of slides to illustrate a wide-ranging and very informative talk about his work and the work of others who have influenced him over the years. He highlighted the importance of studying art as a way of learning the principles of colour and composition and he reminded us that artists can help us to see both better and differently. He discussed Mark Rothko’s Colour Field Paintings, Japanese landscape paintings, classic Japanese gardens, David Hockney’s joiners and many other examples of work that has had an impact on him. He talked about the need for an image to work within the frame as a composition, whatever the subject matter. He showed some of his favourite photographs that he has taken over his long career, and it became clear that he has learned to apply the lessons he’s learned from the artists he has studied. For example, photographs like Beech Forest, Beach Tree, and Boulder Bank, have no central subject, which frees the viewer and encourages an exploration of the complex field of colour and texture, often drawing attention to the edges of the composition. He talked about the lengths he is willing to go to get dramatic images of magnificent places that have become familiar to us through more conventional, and much tamer, representations. To illustrate this, he gave us the back story to his photo of Milford Sound during a storm and a dramatic shot of the Mount Ruapehu Eruption. In his effort to get the best image possible, he would often return to the same place multiple times, photographing the same scene over and over again in an effort to capture an image that does justice to the place. One of his personal favourites, the Fox River Limestone Reflections, shows that this perseverance and dedication can pay off in the end. His work, as well as the work of other artists and photographers, can be seen in the Craig Potton Gallery and Store in Nelson.
Dunedin Photographic Society 